Tarpaulins or Banners?

Wanting printed tarpaulins instead of banners has been very popular lately, so we at eSigns wanted to help clarify the difference between a tarpaulin banner and traditional vinyl banners.

The origin and etymology of Tarpaulin.

Tarpaulin was the name given to the canvas or cloth that was coated in tar by sailors in order to provide a weather proof barrier or covering for objects on ships in order to keep them dry during their sea journey. In fact, the word comes from Tar and Palling (an older word for canvas), finally changed to tarpaulin in the mid 1800s and eventually shortened to the more common word we know today as a tarp.

Now that we know that tarpaulin is actually the name for a heavy duty waterproof material meant for the outdoors, we can now start to see why this name is used by printers to precede banners in order to better describe a banner that is meant for outdoor use. It appears that printers in the United Kingdom were the first to use the word tarpaulin in the description of a printed outdoor banner. However, starting around the middle of 2017, the phrase tarpaulin banner has become a very popular way to describe outdoor banners in the United States also.

The Better Banner Material To Use Outdoors

It should be pointed out that the we would never want to attempt to print a sign on any kind of banner covered in tar. The process would simply be too messy and most likely clog up a printer pretty fast. With that said and all joking aside, the best material one can use for printing waterproof and weather proof outdoor banners is PVC vinyl.

Tarpaulin vinyl banners are highly durable and intended for heavy-duty use in outdoor environments. Weights of our vinyl start at 13 oz material and escalate to our heavier duty 18 oz. vinyl. All our vinyls include a high resistance to tears / abrasions, and both the material and the inks are fully waterproof. Durable vinyls for making banners is the perfect medium for the application of inks used in the sign making industry. This process creates a waterproof and weather proof sign that can be used outdoors for long periods of time.

To sum up our investigation of tarpaulin banners in the printing industry, we have found this is simply another way to introduce and communicate the incredible durability and use of what we call a vinyl banner.